Thai king temporarily lost consciousness: princess

Thailand's ailing king — the world's longest-reigning monarch — recently suffered a health problem that caused him to temporarily lose consciousness, his daughter revealed, linking the incident to stress over the country's flood crisis.

News that the health of 83-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej took what Princess Chulabhorn described as a brief turn for the worse comes as Thailand has been devastated by flooding that has inundated rural areas and parts of Bangkok and its suburbs.

Chulabhorn, the king's youngest daughter, said Friday during a visit to flood victims in Nonthaburi province north of Bangkok that King Bhumibol had gone into shock and lost consciousness after suffering abdominal bleeding and a sharp drop in his blood pressure. She said that about 800 cc of blood had been found in his bowel movements.

Chulabhorn said the king returned to normal health after being treated at the hospital where he has been staying for more than two years, according to the official royal news broadcast on Friday night.

The king, who took the throne in 1946, was originally hospitalised on September 19, 2009, with a lung inflammation. Official statements said he remained at the hospital for physical therapy and nourishment to recover his strength.

Chulabhorn said on Friday that after the May operation, the king "seemed to be at ease" until the flood crisis. The king has been shown from time to time on television speaking — sometimes with difficulty — at royal functions held at the hospital.

Chulabhorn said doctors told her the recent bleeding could have been caused by concern over the flooding.

"So I asked the nurse what he had been doing in the past few days," Chulabhorn said. "It turned out that he had been watching news about the flood. This indicates that His Majesty the King loves his people as his own children. He is very concerned and he usually doesn't speak much, but (his concern) is seen in his physical condition."

She did not specify when the health problem took place, but her comments indicated it was more than a week ago. She had previously spoken about it on November 7, though not in such detail, and said on Friday that it happened the same day she had been visiting flooding victims in Ayutthaya province, also near Bangkok. She visited a Buddhist temple there on November 4.

A doctor in neighboring Myanmar asked to comment on the king's symptoms said, "Psychological stress alone cannot cause the loss of 800 cc of blood," and there had to be other reasons, such as an existing affliction or side effect from medicine. Blood-thinning drugs can cause abnormal bleeding.

"The loss of 800 cc of blood is a significant amount, especially for elderly people," said Dr. Tun Kyaw, assistant surgeon at the government hospital in Yangon's North Okkala neighborhood.